U.S. patent application number 10/885791 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-12 for height adjustable pillow.
Invention is credited to Hwang-Pao Lee.
Application Number | 20060005314 10/885791 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35539728 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060005314 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Hwang-Pao |
January 12, 2006 |
Height adjustable pillow
Abstract
A height adjustable pillow includes an extendable and resilient
pillow body and an air cushion installed in a chamber inside the
pillow body. The pillow body is made of soft plastic, rubber or
foam products of plastic and rubber. The air cushion can be charged
or discharged to adjust the thickness of the pillow, providing
comfort with firm support and enhancing sleep quality.
Inventors: |
Lee; Hwang-Pao; (Chu Pei
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID E. DOUGHERTY;Dennison, Schultz, Dougherty & Macdonald
Suite 105
1727 King Street
Alexandria
VA
22314-2700
US
|
Family ID: |
35539728 |
Appl. No.: |
10/885791 |
Filed: |
July 8, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/644 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 9/1081 20130101;
A47G 2009/003 20130101; A47G 2009/1018 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
005/644 |
International
Class: |
A47G 9/00 20060101
A47G009/00 |
Claims
1. A height adjustable pillow comprising a pillow body and an air
cushion, wherein the pillow body is extendable and resilient,
having a chamber that covers most of the area of the surface of the
pillow body and having a ceiling; the air cushion matching the size
and the shape of the chamber of the pillow body is disposed inside
the chamber, filling the space of the chamber, and having a
plurality of air cells connected with each other, arranged in
parallel, and forming a top layer for supporting the ceiling of the
chamber.
2. The height adjustable pillow as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
pillow body is made of soft plastic.
3. The height adjustable pillow as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
pillow body is made of soft rubber.
4. The height adjustable pillow as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
pillow body is made of plastic foam.
5. The height adjustable pillow as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
pillow body is made of foam rubber material.
6. The height adjustable pillow as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
air cushion having a valve arranged on an opening of the chamber of
the pillow body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] I. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to a height adjustable
pillow and, more specifically, to a pillow having an extendable and
resilient pillow body, inside which installed an air cushion that
can be charged or discharged. By adjusting the amount of air filled
in the air cushion, the thickness of the pillow can be
manipulated.
[0003] II. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] For a good night's sleep, a soft and fluffy pillow with
flexibility is provided with build in head and neck support. A
pillow of such construction is typically made of soft plastic, soft
rubber, or foam products of plastic and rubber. It is also known to
construct a pillow ergonomically designed to have a curved contour,
with one higher hump and one lower hump. A pillow of this kind is
typically made of special foams to provide pressure relief and is
called "memory form".
[0005] Such kind of pillow typically has limited sizes available,
which means the shape and thickness can't be freely modified to
fulfill different sleep needs. To manufacturers, providing multiple
sizes of pillows is not economical since it inevitably increases
cost for production and still may not suit all consumers' need.
Although some adjustable pillows are available on the market, they
are not well-design to meet the needs of consumers.
[0006] The present invention improves on the heretofore known
pillow by providing an adjustable air cushion inside the pillow so
that users can freely modify the thickness to suit their special
needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a height adjustable pillow having a pillow body and an air
cushion. The pillow body is extendable and resilient, made of soft
plastic, rubber, or foam products of plastic and rubber. Inside the
pillow body is a chamber for accommodating the air cushion. By
charging or discharging air through a valve, the thickness of the
pillow can be easily modified.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
height adjustable pillow, of which the air cushion can be freely
charged and discharged so that users can modify the thickness of
the pillow to create sleep comfort.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an explosive view of an embodiment in accordance
with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment shown in FIG.
1 while being adjusted height;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of the cross sectional view of
an embodiment in FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 in which the air cushion
is being charged;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an air cushion of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment in accordance
with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present invention
discloses a height adjustable pillow 1, comprising a pillow body 10
and an air cushion 20. The pillow body 10 is made of soft plastic,
rubber or foam products of plastic and rubber and thus is
extendable and resilient, always resuming its original shape after
being squeezed or pulled. The pillow body 10 can be of any shape.
For example, the pillow body 10 can have an ergonomically-designed,
curved contour with a higher hump 12 in the front and a lower hump
13 in the rear of the surface 11, as shown in FIG. 5. The pillow
body 10 can be covered by a pillow case 30. Moreover, inside the
pillow body 10, there is a flat and thin chamber 14 which is
produced in different ways. For example, the chamber 14 may form
its shape during the foaming process of the pillow body 10. The
horizontal area of the chamber 14 is expected to cover most of the
area of the surface 11, as shown in FIG. 3. A ceiling 15 of the
chamber 14 is expected to keep an adequate distance from the
surface 11 to ensure that the pillow body 10 provides soft and firm
support.
[0017] The air cushion 20 is designed to fit the shape and size of
the chamber 14 so that the air cushion 20 can be put into the
chamber 14 and fill the space in the chamber 14 when the air
cushion 20 is fully charged with air. There are two ways of fitting
the air cushion 20 in the chamber 14. First, the chamber 14 is thin
and flat, with only one lining (not shown in the figures). As the
air cushion 20 is discharged, the air cushion 20 is almost flat and
will not affect the height of the pillow body 10 or the surface 11
when it is inserted to the chamber 14. Since the space in the
chamber 14 is small, and the pillow body 10 is firm and resilient,
the pillow body 10 does not depend on the air in the air cushion 20
for support, and so the surface 11 is able to maintain its normal
altitude as the air cushion 20 is discharged. Second, the chamber
14 is large enough to leave a relatively empty space, as can be
seen in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. As the air cushion 20 in the
chamber 14 is discharged, the air cushion 20 is flat, and the
surface 11 is at a relatively lower altitude. The air cushion 20
has to be charged to fill the space in the chamber 14. With air
filling the space in the chamber 14, the surface 11 goes up and
resumes its normal altitude.
[0018] Refer to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the top layer 21 of the
air cushion 20 serves as a supporting plane that moves vertically
to support the ceiling 15 of the chamber 14. The inner space of the
air cushion 20 is evenly segmented into a plurality of air cells 22
that are connected with each other and of the same size. While
being charged or discharged, the air cells 22 of the air cushion 20
expand or shrink evenly so that the entire top layer 21 maintain at
the same altitude to support the ceiling 15 of the chamber 14 and
make the surface 11 go up and down. The valve 23 of the air cushion
20 is positioned at an opening of the chamber 14 in the pillow body
10.
[0019] To adjust the altitude of the surface 11 of the pillow 1,
users can apply any kind of air pump 2, as shown in FIG. 2, to
charge or discharge the air cushion 20 (the air pump 2 can be
included in the product package, going with the pillow 1). With
evenly expanding or shrinking of the air cushion 20, the altitude
of the top layer 21 changes. As achieving the optimal altitude of
the surface 11, users close the valve 23, as shown in FIG. 6, and
then enjoy the best degree of comfort.
[0020] While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown
and described in detail, it will be readily understood and
appreciated that numerous omissions, changes and additions may be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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